8.5

The Naruto Series and overall franchise has managed to become an international hit! From selling iconic headbands to seeing hundreds of people cos-play (costume play) over the course of the past several years has indeed caused Naruto to make a mark on the world today. Not just for anime fans, but gamers, cartoonists, and other artists alike.

Naruto is a Ninja based anime, and has translated very well into fighting and action based video games. The video game series, Ninja Storm, is now a multi-platform video game. Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 for the Xbox 360 is one of the latest installments of this particular series.

Naruto Shippuden is the continuation of the original Naruto series which follows the protagonist, Naruto, as he deals with the task of controlling his Jinchuuriki power as the host of the Nine Tails monster. He is a part of the Hidden Leaf Village of Konoha, as a shinobi (Japanese for Ninja) and is determined to become Hokage (the leader of the Village).

Evil doers called the Akatsuki, led by the infamous and powerful Madara, are on the quest of collecting the powers of the Jinchuuriki (there are 9 hosts total, who each hold the power of Tailed beasts). With these powers collected, the plan for the Akatsuki is to destroy the current establishment of the world and dominate it. Basically a world take over.

The fight sequences in this Video game are explosive and very fun to play. It's more about timing and understanding the movements of the player's character and their opponent. Like any fighting game, the goal is to beat the other person out by bringing their health points to zero as many times as necessary to win. There is also a story mode, which is done in a very RPG style fashion. This gives way to the ability to unlock characters, modes, as well as level up certain character points and generate more abilities.

The graphics stay true to the anime series. With a unique blend of three dimensional animation with two dimensional rendering, it looks as though the characters of the video game have truly come to a life of their own. The environments are interactive, allowing for a great gameplay experience in which one must both be wary of their opponent or opponents, as well as the immediate surroundings.

The character selection is the largest in the series so far. With 80 characters to play, there will be a lot of moves to master and techniques and strategies to test out in the heat of battle.

The story mode will allow player decisions to cause in effect, alternate endings to happen. This gives the game a lot of re-playability and will keep gamers interested for a fairly long time.

The other great part of this series, is that because it's a fighting game, one can play against their friends in PvP combat. This creates unlimited possibilities for game time and experiences.